Tenrogumi's Seven Missing Years
by cantloveforever
Summary: With the roar of Acnologia overhead and their hands linked, the Tenrou Island group that would soon be missing in Earth Land for seven long years could feel their bond of friendship form the only type of magic that had not been defeated or crushed by the Dragon King. However, their time in Fairy Sphere isn't wasted away as they find themselves back in a parallel universe: Edolas.
1. Return

**Author's Note:** I do not own Fairy Tail. All credit goes to Hiro Mashima for the incredibleness. (This will remain true for every continuous chapter).

I am totally open to suggestions on this story, so if you have one, feel free to leave it in the comments. (I have already got some inspo- thanks guys).

 **Note to those who have followed and are looking for an update:** I am still writing this guys! I tend to fall into waves between my fandom obsessions. FT left it for some time... Which caused my large gap. This is my only large fic so I'm getting used to trying to write this much.

I have edited the first and second chapter. ( _The second half of the second chapter is new content_ ). Hopefully 3rd chappy will be coming out sooner rather than later.

FT

The broad hallway was silent except for the consistent sound of footsteps: one pair heavy and commanding that echoed off of the walls while the other was softer and accompanied by the sound of clanking gauntlets as Erza Knightwalker followed only a few steps behind King Jellal. As she walked she pondered how else to expand the military without magic. Edolas needed to continue to prosper, and that would be hard to do without a better than sufficient military.

It had taken a while to get used to without magical items, but their kingdom was finally stable in its everyday life. Erza knew (although she hated) that the kingdom owed a certain former magic guild for their prosperity. Fairy Tail, after the loss of the magic, had taken themselves to the city to help out. They rebuilt buildings and helped to repair damaged items. Families were found and regathered. Fairy Tail's days of hiding were over, and Jellal had pardoned them in exchange for their service.

Erza felt that it was slightly unfair- they had broken the law and were getting away with it with only a few scratches. Sir Faust had been exiled from his own kingdom; the rest of the military advisors and captains had been stripped of their positions. This included Erza herself. At the time of the announcement of her punishment, she had thought that she would have rather died than been humiliated at the submission to physical public labor. It had taken hours and hours of labor to put the city back together. However, the work seemed to strengthen the trust between the kingdom and people when they saw their commanders doing the same work that they were. Erza reflected that this was the kind of thing that the kingdom needed, and that was how Erza Knightwalker found herself as the Royal Army Captain of the 1st War Division (no longer the Magic War Division). After hours and hours of training after the work, Erza could finally say that she once again prided herself on her power. Her newer abilities in combat made up for her loss of the Ten Commandments magical spear. Being an advisor and guard of Edolas' king, Erza made sure that she would always be prepared for anything. In fact, she prided herself on this fact, and so when Knightwalker briefly glanced over to her left where a large, floor length, golden-rimmed mirror stood in the hallway she was surprised by the image that greeted her.

Though it took only a fraction of a second Knightwalker quickly realized that there was no mirror- the reflection staring back at her was Erza Scarlet, of Earth Land Fairy Tail. Erza would recognize her own face at any time, and the flowing tresses of Scarlet were unique to only herself and her counterpart. And while they may have parted on decent terms before the Earth Land Fairy Tail was sucked up through the anima, she reacted instinctively, drawing her now magicless spear. Her ears heard the metal slice through the air, and in a mere second the tip was pressed against Scarlet's neck. Erza also happened to pride herself on her precision of her weapon, for the blade moved quick enough to barely be seen and yet it stopped right where pale skin was. If the other woman were to so much as move her neck, blood would be drawn.

And so she was once again taken by surprise when she felt the slight sting of a paper thin line cut against her own neck. Scarlet had drawn a sword with just as quick- if not faster -reflexes. And it wasn't just her because Erza Knightwalker could see the dozen or so Fairy Tail counterparts standing at the ready. Her mind rapidly raced through what had happened, and what she needed to do. In seconds, her arm had sufficiently pushed King Jellal behind her while steadily gazing into the eyes of Scarlet. Task 1: Protect the King, check. Task 2: Figure out what the hell was going on. And that one was going to take quite a bit longer.

FT

"Arghh…" Natsu groaned aloud. His body _ached_. He could feel the blood rushing through his brain, giving him a rather annoying headache. Natsu was sure that all of the magic in his body must be entirely _gone_. It was almost as if he had fought a dragon. _Wait_! Natsu's memory cleared quickly: he _had_ fought a dragon. He and the rest of his nakama were just about to be obliterated and were facing imminent death had it not been for some kind of spell that Mavis (the first master of Fairy Tail) had cast. Natsu wasn't exactly sure what kind of spell it was, but it obviously worked. The ground was hard beneath him, not letting up on the injured mage. Natsu may have gained a cut here and there, and maybe some bruises, but he still wasn't going down without a fight. He pulled himself to his feet and got ready to throw a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist at the enemy. If the dragon was anything like Natsu, no matter the spell that Mavis had cast, he wouldn't quite until he felt total defeat. Natsu knew this from the many occasions of fighting those around him- namely Gildarts and Erza. They never let him win.

But while Natsu was getting fired up to fight the enemy on the behalf of his guild, he found that there was none. Not only had the dragon (whose name Natsu had already forgotten) disappeared, but Natsu couldn't sense the menacing presence. This made his headache worsen. They had been fighting- and the main guy just up and left! Sure, Natsu was worried about actually not being able to beat the dragon, but he also didn't like winning just on the pretense of his opponent going away.

"You coward!" He yelled into the sky instead.

A familiar groan, "Uuugh…", and Natsu was instead glancing around for his friends.

He spotted blonde hair first, laying face first in the dirt next to him. Lucy. Not only her, but Natsu saw all of his friends laying in a vague circle. Happy, Natsu noticed, was still holding Carla's hand. Smiling, Natsu decided to sit and wait for his friends to awaken.

That is, until he got impatient and tired of doing nothing.

"Oi, Lucy, the dragon's gone." He got a grumble in reply after gently shaking her shoulder. And so, after deciding to _not_ try and wake up Erza, moved onto Gray.

"What? Do you need your beauty sleep Ice Princess? Get up." Natsu was getting quite bored with the minimal responses. Sighing, he sat back down. Maybe his nakama just needed more time.

And they did, for soon enough one by one, the mages present on Tenrou when Acnologia attacked them were gathered in a loose circle. Most of them were next to those whom they had been when they cast Fairy Sphere, and Gray was being smothered by a certain water mage.

"Juvia is so happy that Gray-sama is alright!"

Happy was happily chewing on a fish in front of Carla, for his worries had seemingly already disappeared when he found the scaly food in his green bag.

"Carla, would you like some?"

"No."

Gramps, however, did not seem to be in the same state. There was a deep frown on his face, and it only brought down the mood of his 'brats'.

"You stupid kids…" Natsu could hear Makarov muttering just underneath his breath. Really, Natsu believed that they weren't that stupid. How could he think that they would just abandon him, their Master? Jii-chan shouldn't have thought that he alone could could beat the dragon king. It wasn't much of a surprise to Natsu that his nakama wouldn't abandon their Master.

Instead of bringing it up though, Natsu looked around at their surroundings. Other than the gentle breeze and soft sun on their faces, the island appeared devoid of life. No birds could be seen flying through the air, and even Natsu's enhanced dragon slayer hearing couldn't pick up any sound of movement in the nearby brush.

"Oi, what happened to the dragon?" he decided to ask his earlier question. Despite being beat up, the mages were still alive and there was no black and blue creature hovering over the island trying to kill them. He had learned that sometimes fear was necessary earlier on their time at Tenrou, and he couldn't explain the inexplicable terror at losing his friends at the hands of a monster like Acnologia. Now though, they were all alright, and Natsu wanted to know where their enemy had gone.

"The hell would I know Flame Brain?"

The other mages glanced around, as if one of them would hold the answer.

However, upon receiving no other reply, Natsu's brain, which couldn't handle such serious topics for so long, moved onto food.

He was ready to go home and eat some of Mira's tasty fire chicken, and so the S-class trial was forgotten. He knew that technically, no one had made it. Did that mean they would have to go at it again? If he fought Erza he was going to give it his all, even if tired out.

Natsu, although hungry and depleted in magic, wasn't about to back down from a taunt by his rival. Ever. "You wanna go, Ice Princess?"

"Oi, maybe you really do have only fire up in your head- I literally just said that!"

Natsu wasn't exactly sure what was coming out of his mouth by now. His fights with Gray were so common and routine that the insults were kind of becoming repetitive. He was sure that he heard 'Droopy-eyes', 'Pervy Popsicle', and 'Ash for brains' at least once during their bickering. Their argument was only shut up before a punch could be thrown by a glare from Erza that clearly threatened, _any more and I'll kill you both._

She, along with the rest of their group, were pondering what to do next.

Natsu supposed that there was a real problem that he and his nakama were facing. He internally admitted that they did need to leave the island, though he would never voice this aloud and make it seem like the stripper was right. That Ice Bastard could never be right, and Natsu was never, ever going to admit it.

"Alright!" he shouted jumping to his feet, before grabbing Lucy's wrist, and forcibly dragging her along with him in a random direction. They were on a island after all, and they had to come across the shore _sometime_. "Come on, Happy!"

A cheerful "Aye, Sir!" was heard before Natsu was off and into the foliage around the clearing. A tree branch rustled as the rest of the unofficial Team Tenrou stared after the original three of Team Natsu, who were quickly disappearing from sight with Happy walking after Natsu and Lucy. Erza was the first to respond, instantly requipping a sword into her hand and into her everyday armor. She froze, however, when the blade did not appear. The metal breastplate and gloves didn't either. Hmm. It appeared that her magic power was not yet replenished. Erza decided to go after the idiot anyways, and started in a brisk pace after Natsu, even without her sword. She had started tromping through the undergrowth when Levy, who was holding Panther Lily, also decided to follow after the three. It was more likely that she was heading after Lucy than Natsu and his exceed. Erza could hear the rest of Fairy Tail gather themselves up to return to shore.

It was the general consensus that it was easier to just follow Natsu than drag him off another way.

Erza sighed. She realized soon after leaving the main group that Natsu had chosen the very opposite direction of which would lead them to the ship fastest. Based off her own navigational skills, they really should make a 168 degree turn-around and head the other way. This was going to be a long walk. Really, Natsu was such a big idiot sometimes, but Erza loved her nakama.

Instead, the mage simply decided to enjoy the walk. She had needed to gain more energy at any rate, and taking time to calm herself (while simultaneously watching ahead for Natsu) would probably do her good. By Erza's estimation, she should be able to requip within the next few hours. It was longer than normal, but she supposed that using Fairy Sphere must have entirely drained them all. If it got rid of Acnologia though, it was certainly worth it.

Erza did notice however, the clear lack of any other life. There were no insects buzzing about, swarming her face. There were no birds flying overhead, or any bird calls to be heard for that matter. The silence, while much preferred over the roar of a dragon, was disconcerting. Even on an island there should be more noise than this.

Thus Erza didn't hear the crash of waves against the island when they arrived at its edge. Because there was no ocean. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were standing motionless. A vast desert lay stretched before them, and not a drop of water was in sight, and the mages could not possibly be in Fiore any more.

While the sun was present before, much of its intensity was blocked by tree branches and the like. Now, the strong rays of midday sunlight beat down on them immediately, and Erza could feel the dryness of the air as she breathed it in. There was no hint of salt in the atmosphere that would come with an ocean.

"Where in Mavis's name are we?" Lucy asked rhetorically, still not believing how the sacred island had ended up in the middle of a giant sand pit. She had also been ready to return to the guild hall, yet it appeared that they would not end up there anytime soon. Everyone wanted to get home. They were tired, and many of them were injured. She could _feel_ the waves of heat in the air.

Lucy was stirred from her shock when the pink haired boy beside her dashed off into the large hills of golden sand. She could feel the heat radiating off of the ground, and in the distance the horizon was hazy.

"Alright! The sea's gone, so we can just walk home, ne Happy?"

"Aye Sir!"

She groaned in frustration. Sometimes, Natsu could be really dense. By the time the rest of Fairy Tail was gathered, Natsu and Happy had already ran across a few meters.

"Oi! Flame Head, the sea isn't gone. We're in the middle of a bunch of piles of sand. You can't just walk home," Gray beat her to calling out to Natsu.

There really wasn't anything but sand before them. Whereas on the island trees and bushes grew fruitfully, Lucy couldn't even see a cactus in the vast expanse. The desert was an endless sea stretched out for miles. She squinted. Was there something? It appeared that there might be extremely large buildings far off to the left of where the guild was standing. From Lucy's current standpoint, they barely disturbed the straight line that separated sky from sand.

"Minna!" she called out, "I think we should head that way!" Lucy pointed in the direction of the buildings.

"Yay, go Lu-chan!" Lucy head Levy say in support of her discovery.

Erza cooly agreed. "Yes, I suppose that we should head that way. Good job Lucy."

While the rest of the members murmured their agreement or started to slowly head out, Natsu had challenged Gray to see who could arrive first. They were both sprinting as fast as they could, not looking back, and shouting insults at each other. The sand rose behind them slightly as their feet disrupted the hills.

Makarov stood with his arms crossed. "Those two idiots!"

"Gi hee hee."

Their Master watched as the group slowly filed out, forming into smaller groups as they continued their journey to find out where they were. Makarov himself was puzzled by how their island had appeared somewhere else, but he wasn't about to let that distract him. He had his children to look out for, after all. Such things as disappearing oceans was trivial when he had such other pressing duties. And boy, did his brats give him duties to attend to. And so, Makarov moved out with the rest of his family onto the dry land.

Glancing around, he noted how the Raijin Tribe instantly gathered around Laxus. They must be very glad to see him. Makarov wasn't too sure about having the mage back around the guild members (he had been exiled, and he still was), but nonetheless he was glad to see his grandson alive and well. No matter what had happened, Fairy Tail was a family, and through hard times and good that was what they would remain. He couldn't just welcome the boy back with open arms (that would look bad) but he let his mouth curl up at the sight of Laxus' return.

Gildarts and Cana had fallen in line as well. Makarov was glad to see that they were finally aware of their ties: Cana had needed to let Gildarts know that he was her father. It had put such a heavy weight on her shoulders, and Makarov was glad that some more relations could be made and healed. Maybe the older man was willing to stay a while longer with the new discovery.

He watched as Cana smiled- truly smiled- at her father, and it brought happiness to his heart. And he knew that while she was complaining about him becoming a doting parent, Cana was actually very relieved to have him recognize her in his life. Makarov had high hopes for the two's future bond, even as she shoved him a little based on some comment.

He also observed with a small snicker that two bodies were lying on the sand, exhausted farther up in their pathway. Natsu and Gray had simply fell with the sun's extreme heat and no water. He wasn't the only one to notice though. Juvia had, upon seeing her beloved Gray-sama fall, trotted ahead (while simultaneously picking up his discarded clothing) to see if he wanted to 'drink some of Juvia'.

The girls of Team Natsu were walking along with the Strauss siblings, talking about the S-class trial. Would it continue? Would the Master pick a new S-class mage from just what happened?

Makarov sighed. He wasn't really sure what to do. Sure, they had shown potential, but with the trial not over and the island in some new land, he wasn't sure if the mages would have a chance to finish the promotional tests.

His brats really were something. They survive a dragon attack, only to gossip about who he would choose to become S-class! And this heat was seriously getting to him. Makarov wasn't actually sure about what he was going to do. Obviously they had larger problems to deal with, so he decided to just leave the S-class promotional trial be. Once again, his guid gave him so many other things to think about- like what trouble they might get into with the Magic council for making the ocean go away.

The distant buildings seemed to get no closer as the hours wore on, and the Master made the executive decision to stop for the night. The sun wasn't even setting yet, but everyone was still tired from using all of their magic power earlier, and he knew that walking for a long period of time would exhaust all of them (himself included). Juvia especially appeared to be feeling the heat. Of course, this made sense as she was a water mage; the sun wouldn't simply just shine down on her, but slowly take her energy with it.

"Alright brats, we'll stop here for the night. Let's see what food and shelter we can find."

Within a few moments, everyone was off looking for various types of edible plants and small game.

"Yoshi! Let's go, Happy!" Natsu said as he started to walk off, probably to find some poor animal to roast with his fire.

Wendy wasn't really sure what she was looking for. A mushroom, perhaps? Even if she was sure, she wouldn't have been able to find much. She looked around her, scouring the ground. Sand. A small piece of cardboard. Sand. What was now a wilted and dead bush. Sand. A few grains of sand, surrounded by more sand. Nothing was really out here. She sighed in defeat, and looked over to her best friend.

"Carla, can you find anything?"

"Now Wendy, we are in a desert. There is nothing to find. I could have told you that," the mother figure of a cat told her, impatiently.

"Okay."

And so Wendy simply started heading back to where Jii-chan had sat down.

Sometimes Carla was harsh on Wendy, but she knew that the exceed only had her best wishes at heart. She scooped up the white cat and sat down with their Jii-chan.

"Gomen, Master." Wendy said as she got back, "I couldn't find anything…"

Makarov was watching as the other mages came back, all appearing with nothing to show for their efforts.

"There's really nothing out here." Bickslow commented.

Wendy saw Natsu and Happy returning as well. They had apparently found a couple of driftwood pieces.

"Jii-chan! Look what we found!" Happy was walking next to the fire mage, also carrying some wood. It looked like they would have a fire to keep warm tonight.

When Natsu tried to start a fire from his own hand to light the wood however, nothing happened. He gave a frustrated sigh, before trying again. "Oi, my magic should have been replenished by now…"

It took another attempt before Erza nodded understandingly. "My requip has been unable to recover. Can anyone else use their magic?"

"Open, Gate of the Scorpion. Scorpio!"

"Ice Make: Sword!"

"Animal Soul: Cat!"

No celestial spirits appeared. No sword was found in Gray's hand. Lisanna remained unchanged in her human form.

Erza looked deep in thought, before her eyes widened slightly. "None of us can use our magic, even though it should have been long regained. There has ever only been one place where we couldn't, and our environment seems to be largely changed…"

She was met with silence, before Natsu called out loudly, "Yeah! We're back in Edolas! I'm sure I could beat you this time, Mystogan!"

"Juvia will get to meet Gray-sama in love with Juvia?! Jubin!"

FT

After Juvia passed out, the mages sat around a small glowing fire (that was started the old fashioned way- using sticks), to discuss their whereabouts. The smaller flame wasn't enough to really heat up the occupants around it, but at the very least they had a decent light source. It flickered with the small changes of the wind, and Lucy enjoyed breathing in the scent of smoke. Erza had already stopped Natsu from _eating_ the flame, as it had taken some time to get it to light anyways.

"So this is Edolas?" their Master mused aloud, glancing around them. "I figured it would be less… empty."

Lucy responded to his comment. "It's a lot more populated once we reach Royal City. It must be the cluster of buildings that we've been heading to. I wonder if Mystogan still has those x-balls. It'd be useful to be able to use our magic here." She was already looking forward to seeing the members of Edo-Fairy Tail, and especially Lucy Ashley. Maybe they could play the 'Guess which one is Lucy Heartfilia' game again with Gemini. Only not in a bathrobe.

"No," said Erza with a shake of her head, "Even if he did, we would not be able to use our magic. All of it is out of Edolas, and we would not be able to find any lacrima either."

Lucy hadn't really thought of the occurrence in which she wouldn't be able to summon her friends. She didn't want to have to be apart from them for Mavis knows how long, but Lucy supposed that she couldn't really do anything about it.

"Hey, let's share stories about this Fairy Tail!" Mira suggested, to bring the mood up. One person in particular perked up at that, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Well, we already have a little, but it might be a good refresher since we're here," Lisanna laughed before continuing. "Natsu the Fireball is totally quiet and meek- unless he's in his car."

"Oh yeah! I can't believe the other me loves transportation." Natsu, upon stating that word, gave a sickly gulp, as if the mere mention was enough to make him sick.

Shaking his head, he said, "Natsu the Fireball is pretty awesome though. He sticks with his friends, with or without his car."

Natus continued on, "Lucy's real fierce. She enjoys picking on other-me, and she and Levy are always arguing."

At this, Lucy looked over to Levy, sharing a smile. Levy hadn't seen the two arguing about how fast Levy could get them to transport. Lucy remembered her counterpart, Lucy Ashley, doing all of those things. That girl was seriously aggressive.

"Gi hee. The other me's a writer. We're both great at music though."

Silence. (The collective thoughts: _We certainly hope he is. Two musically inclined Gajeels would be trouble._ )

The conversation was continued by Happy. "Aye! And Wendy's all grown up."

Wendy sweatdropped. "Yeah…" The taller, confident version of herself made Wendy sometimes feel like she had rather high standards.

Natsu, upon seeing something wrong in the dragon slayer's look, gave her a questioning look.

Wendy shook her head, and she gave him a smile. She didn't need to feel like she had something to aim for- Fairy Tail had taught her that all she needed to be was herself.

Smiles were passed around the guild at the memories of the people and the memories of the stories of the people of Fairy Tail.

Juvia was still passed out on the sand next to Gray, so she didn't hear his words. "Pft. I can't believe that it's the other way around here."

Lisanna was steadily becoming more and more excited. She would get to see all of her Edolas friends that she had made in that two years' time! "Yup! Gray Surge is helplessly in love with Juvia, and he's always cold! He has to wear at least eight layers before he's even moderately warm."

Lisanna, chirping about her friends, continued, "Cana, you might not like yourself. She hasn't had a drop of alcohol in her life, and she's a proper lady who loves her tea parties."

"What?!" Cana was already missing her booze. She didn't want a reminder of how this desert provided her with none. Her transport flasks were already running low.

Gildarts laughed. "I'd like to see the day my daughter doesn't have one drop in a span of an hour!"

Laughter circled around the fire, and it almost felt like the mages were home again in the guild hall. They continued to share stories of Edo-Fairy Tail (mainly from their short-term member, Lisanna) long into the night, forgetting about their worries in the love of their friendship. They shared their excitement of seeing the parallel guild and Mystogan. None of the mages were willing to ask themselves or each other the real questions. _What was happening in their own world? Why were they even there in the first place?_ And most importantly, _could they even make it home?_


	2. The Break-in

**Author's Note:** Here's second chapter. For those who have already read this story, the second half is **new content** (and the first half has been edited). Yippee. Same disclaimer.

Thanks for the reviews, I'm loving some of the ideas. (As a note, for the EarthLand FT members, I will probably be going with a mainly canon direction. As far as Edolas relationships go, who knows? Okay, I know, but I'm still developing concepts so.)

FT

Wendy Marvell had slept horribly for the last two nights, and the mages had been traveling at a slow walking pace for the past two days. Last night, she had tossed and turned on the ground while her body slowly froze half to death. Their tiny fire eventually burned out, and Wendy was left to the hard ground.

When she awoke, the floor beneath her was scorched by the sun, even though it was only morning. Her body was sore from the consistent walking, and she had no sky magic to help anyone around her. In fact, no one had their magic. So, while she wished that she could heal the aching legs and dull eyes of some of her guildmates, she was left helpless. It didn't matter that no one else could do anything about it, for Wendy was supposed to be their healer, and what was she going to do without that ability?

"Ugh!" she groaned in annoyance before sitting up to get ready to keep traveling. The exhaustion was putting her into a bad mood. They would reach Royal Kingdom today, just as Wendy was beginning to lose patience with the never changing landscape. This, at least, was something good that she could focus on. By now she considered a small cactus something out of the ordinary, for the landscape was no different from the first day. She hadn't ever experiences the same freaking environment with no change for this long of a time over this large of a distance, and she was growing weary. Even Tenrou Island was but a mere dot on the landscape behind them.

She rubbed her eyes with a hand to clear away the sleep and saw that she was the first one up. At least she wasn't alone this time in Edolas. When Magnolia had disappeared right before her eyes, Wendy had been so terrified and afraid that she had lost any semblance of a family yet again. To her, Fairy Tail was more than just nakama. The guild meant so much to her now because her entire life had fallen apart before. First Grandeeney had left. Her beloved mother of a dragon was just up and gone one fateful 7th of July.

Then Jellal left her too. When she finally thought that she had a home with a caring older brother, he was taken away from her. It was worse this time, though. With Grandeeney, she was just gone and Wendy had no idea why. With Jellal, he refused to take her with him. She could leave Grandeeney's disappearance to something like inability to find her. With Jellal, she was given no reason as to why he had to leave her. At the time, she hated herself. What had she done wrong for him to leave her? It had hurt.

After the alliance to defeat Oracion Seis, her friends and Master from Cait Shelter were revealed to be nothing but illusions. Her entire past was one of disappearing families… but she supposed that many of her guildmates had hard pasts like her own. At least now her world was finally looking up. Which was why she had been so distraught at losing it once again when Magnolia was sucked away.

Luckily, Wendy was past that now and she knew that her Fairy Tail family wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. They had told her as much, and so no matter what was about to happen she felt safe.

She would even get to see Jellal! It had been years since she had been able to talk with him (and seeing him for only a short time in battle did not count as the reunion that Wendy so desperately craved). Not only did she want an explanation, Wendy felt like she deserved it. You don't go missing on someone (much less a little girl!) without some serious reasons, and although she wasn't mad, Jellal had some talking to do.

Once more Wendy looked around, and as she did she saw Gray getting everyone else up (as she herself didn't have it in her to wake the others). She was so glad that all of her nakama were with her this time. She had the support of her fellow dragon slayers, she had Carla. Now, Wendy had people who cared about her, and that she cared about.

However, Wendy frowned. She noticed that Juvia was looking especially weak, which made sense because she was a water mage deprived of her element in a hot, dry desert. Wendy had never wished that she had her magic to help heal her friends more than then. She didn't like feeling like she couldn't do anything to help those around her.

"Juvia-san, are you alright?" Wendy asked, walking over.

"Hmm? Juvia is alright. It's just really hot out," she said, stating that she was doing okay, but Wendy knew better when Juvia's legs failed her when she tried to stand. The water mage slumped back onto the sand. It was only the second day.

"Juvia-san!" Wendy cried out.

Gray, who had woken up Natsu and was about to fight him, turned around at Wendy's call. He hesitated a moment, before walking over.

"Here," he said, albeit reluctantly, "You're probably the worst off from all of us," as he gave her his arm to lean on.

"Ah! Gray-sama is giving Juvia his body?!" Her eyes filled with hearts, and Gray grimaced.

"Just get up and walk already." Gray said in an irritated voice, but Wendy noticed that he still let Juvia use him as a living cane (even if she held on a little more than necessary).

Lucy came over to join the small commotion. "I'm glad that we're almost there - I don't think that Juvia can carry herself much farther."

Lucy herself was feeling tired, although not to the point of exhaustion. She wished that she could call to her spirits to see how they were doing (and to possibly give her legs a break - it was a Monday and Horologium was now available).

She missed her spirits deeply though, more than just a wish to relieve her muscles. She missed the companionship of Loke, even though he would constantly be flirting. She yearned for the chastisement of not having a boyfriend from her oldest zodiac gate, Aquarius.

Despite their quicks and annoyances, they were her friends, and she missed them just as much as she would her nakama with her currently.

Luckily Lucy was distracted from her thoughts by the journey the group had yet to make. Before the sun rose too high, they were off and walking. Gray had even begrudgingly carried Juvia piggy back style; she fainted on his back afterwards, of course.

The guild moved at a slower pace today. No one raced ahead, no one let any other fall behind. Sure it was slow going, but they were going together, and that was what really mattered.

About halfway through the day, Fairy Tail Team Tenrou could see the entire castle, and it gave many of them a new determination to keep going step by step. Cana especially. She had run out of her personal booze stock (stored in a magical flask in her shoulder bag) the previous night, and was seriously needing a drink. The kingdom had better have a good stock, or else Cana was going to go mad without her boyfriend. She also learned to (1), carry more booze around with her for situations like this, and (2), that she didn't really enjoy the lack of alcohol in deserts, so they weren't her landscape of choice.

"Tch." Cana saw that Gildarts, her recently realized father, continued to stick near her side. Honestly, she was a grown woman. Just because he knew that he was her father did not mean that she should get treated like a child. Cana guessed that to some level, this was what she was hoping for all those years.

 _The stars were alive the Fairy Tail members as they settled in for a dark night in the desert, since the fire had been eaten by none other than Natsu. They had decided to leave it, as finding the dead leaves to strike up another fire would be futile since it was already dark. Cana lay beside Gildarts, and he had his hands folded behind his head, relaxed._

 _They gazed up into the mass of sky above them, comfortable in each others' company._

" _... Cana, what did you plan to do if you became an S-class mage? Do you have any other plans for the future?"_

" _Blegh. Don't give me that crap Gildarts. I may be your daughter, but it's way too late to be asking me the sappy kids' questions."_

" _..."_

 _Nonetheless, a smile graced both of their faces._

 _The other mages had already fallen asleep, but Cana found herself wide awake in the absence of her favorite drink. She didn't know very many constellations, but she could make out a few. Leo and Aries were shining bright against the midnight blue. So the stars were the same here as they were in Earth Land. That was a good thought at least, and it reminded her of home._

 _She sighed. "I guess I mainly wanted to become S-class because… well, I had such a powerful father. You know? The strongest in Fairy Tail. Surely I wasn't worth his time, not when I was so weak myself." The conversation lapsed into silence. Cana wished that she had some beer to fill the quiet with. She didn't like going into the serious topic of her past very often. Especially not to the matter of most of her past._

 _Cana was relieved that she had finally told Gildarts that he was her father. It had taken years of convincing herself. Looking back, Cana didn't need to become S-class in order to tell him, but it wasn't like she could go back in time and tell her younger self to stop being so foolish. He would accept her either way, and he had. The pressure that she had put on herself was gone, so Cana felt free to relax fully for the first time in a long time._

 _Her eyes were fluttering closed against her will now. The bright stars gave her comfort, and so did the words she heard before she fell to sleep._

" _Thank you, Cana. For letting me into your life," he said, just before they both nodded off._

Yep. Treated just like a child. Cana shook her head to clear the memory. What she needed now wasn't an adoring parent. She needed a parent who could get her some alcohol, and unfortunately for her, Gildarts didn't have any either.

Maybe Mira had some on her… no, she had already asked. Juvia? She barely had enough strength to talk, let alone drink. Cana groaned. She could not wait until they got to the castle and end her hell.

Cana's view of Juvia was correct. The water user was slumped on Gray's back with not even enough energy to be fangirling over her Gray-sama. She didn't even have access to her magic, yet she was still affected terribly. The only good part, Juvia thought, was that she was being carried by Gray. It made her feel only slightly less miserable.

The stripper hadn't been shedding his clothes, if only because his hands were busy carrying her. That was good, because if she didn't have the energy to walk let alone pick up the clothes for him. It took Juvia's level of love (or stalkerism?) to realize how many shirts he had lost since she joined Fairy Tail. Not counting the ones that she found, washed, folded, and placed back in his house, he had lost (Juvia knew down to the exact number) 37. These were the ones that he must have lost without her near, where unattainable (such as thrown over a cliff), or unsalvageable (such as torn to bits once they left his back).

Juvia had come to the realization that while she immediately loved Gray upon their meet, she hadn't fallen in love with him then. What she loved now was more than just her understanding of him. She loved how he was a major support to the guild, she loved how he cared so much for everyone else, and even though he didn't love her, she was willing to be patient and tone down the obsession.

For now though, instead of worrying over what clothes her beloved Gray had lost, Juvia was content to be carried by him. Juvia cared so much for her him, and she didn't ever want to burden him or force him into a decision. She loved him so much that she was willing to wait out a lifetime for him, even if deep in her heart she had no idea if he could ever return her feelings.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck tighter to try to ease the weight that he had to hold with his arms and placing her head on his shoulder. Gray looked back to her with a neutral face. No scowling (although Juvia saw no smile either). Maybe he didn't mind her too much after all. Of course, only when she was too tired to be all over him and obsessed. Sometimes she was very clingy, Gray thought.

"You okay, Juvia?"

"Ahh. Gray-sama cares enough to ask how Juvia is!"

"Tch. I'll take that as a yes."

Happy snickered behind the last fish from his bag quietly, "He liiiiiikes her."

Erza gave a soft smile. While the sun continued to beat down on them, their steps steadily led them into the outer edge of town and under a large golden gate. Even the lowest tier of the city had people out and about.

The people of Edolas lived differently now, with no magic, but just as much spirit. They saw the bustle of the main street as people walked about and chatted. They also happened to hear the gossip about themselves as they headed in.

"Who's that?"

"Is it Fairy Tail?"

"I thought that they were working in the capitol?"

"But wait, that doesn't really look quite like them…"

Levy was slightly nervous. They were walking towards the center of a large town, filled with people, with no magic. It almost made her feel defenseless, even though she basically had an iron wall walking right behind her. A horse and carriage drove by them, the driver tipping his hat. They certainly didn't fail to draw attention to themselves, even though everyone else already had stuff to do. It was a glance here or an odd look there.

As they came farther into the spiral of walls, the population of people steadily increased. This caused Makarov came up with the idea to split up. Some of the team needed water (Juvia) or food (many of them) or weapons (Erza). They would meet back up in two hours near the wall of the castle specifically. Until then, they would try to blend in better in groups of two or three. Levy found herself with her S-class trial partner, Gajeel, and his exceed, Panther Lily (who was walking on all fours like a normal cat).

"I can't believe that I'm disgraced to this in my former home…"

She giggled quietly behind a hand. It did make sense, however, why the exceeds would all walk that way. Now that magic was gone from Edolas, walking cats (and exceeds in general) would be an abnormality.

Levy tried to take in all of the city at once. Unlike some of the members, (mainly Team Natsu), she had never been to Edolas. The townspeople seemed to be very busy, even though it appeared that any damage done to buildings was now repaired. There were friendly calls across the street and the steady sound of a town that had come to life. Levy was surprised that they hadn't seen any of the Edolas Fairy Tail yet, especially Mystogan. Surely someone would have notified him by now - he _was_ the king after all. However the three continued to walk past the numerous cafes, shops, and people and into the very center of the town - the Royal City palace.

Levy stopped by a small weaponry shop and decided to buy some iron. If she couldn't make it with her magic, at least she could pay for some for Gajeel to eat. Other than a couple of small plants or that one piece of small game, Natsu was the only one who ate and hence they were all starving. Levy herself, after giving the two iron axes to Gajeel, went across the street to eat at a small cafe. At least they looked less suspicious, Levy assumed, as she sat down. Maybe they looked just like the Edolas Fairy Tail members, going about their normal business.

 _We are not looking just like the Edolas Fairy Tail members,_ Lucy thought, in a slight bit of panic. She was having a very hard time. She had split up with Erza and Gray to head towards to inner city, and acting like a tough and aggressive Lucy Ashley was becoming harder by the second. Not to mention that her worn, colorful clothes looked nothing like the edolas former mage would wear. It had been Erza's idea to blend in by acting like their counterparts, and poor Gray was practically melting inside the two coats that Erza had stuffed him into. He still looked too underdressed to be Gray Surge in Lucy's mind.

She sweatdropped as she frowned and glared at all of the people that she passed. Or rather, she tried to, but glaring just wasn't in her nature! She didn't want to be rude to people and act all aggressive just to blend in. She was pretty certain that Erza was making it hard enough to herself.

Didn't Erza Knightwalker _hunt_ the fairies anyway? How would their Erza pass off as her opposite? Either way, Erza quickly herded her friends into every weapons shop that she could find and bought the best that she could find there. She turned out with three swords, one long sword, and a spear before leaving the store. She placed them all in a new, though smaller, luggage cart.

"Um, Erza, don't you want some armor?"

She shook her head and responded stoically. "I wear mainly Heart Kreuz armor. You know that, Lucy. I will wait until I find their store."

Lucy figured that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell the redhead that Heart Kreuz might not sell the same things in Edolas and that Erza might be stuck in her ripped Heart of Courage Armour.

Gray followed as she marched off, still sweating. He hadn't stripped yet because a sword was pointed at him the moment his hands found the buttons. Lucy supposed that that was one way to get a stripper to stay dressed. She said so.

"Ah, well that was the method that she used to get me to quit smoking…"

 _What?_ Lucy hadn't remembered that Gray used to smoke! She got to know her teammates better day after day apparently.

After the three ate, Lucy found herself bored. Erza had a lot that she wanted to get done in the one hour left, but Lucy didn't have need to find such things.

She looked into a small store that she was certain used to sell magical items, and she wondered what they sold now. Lucy was dragged back into the traffic in the middle of the road by Erza.

Soon enough, the second hour was over and Fairy Tail had gathered outside of the castle walls. They towered over the group, and Natsu was pounding at the main gate.

"Oi! Let us in already! I'm gonna fight Mystogan!" Natsu called loudly. The guard nearest to them came over.

"My apologies, but outsiders are prohibit-"

There was a _whoosh_ sound of a sword being drawn out of a scabbard, and the guard let them in.

Lucy saw the motion that signaled more guards, but the fairies were on the move, hunting down their previous member. Now full and nourished, all of them could keep up with Erza's run through the hallways. Working on instinct, Erza appeared to simply burst down any doors that she deemed necessary to pass through, and took corners at lighting speed with no hesitation.

Lucy barely had time to even look around her as Erza threw doors down and threatened guards to let her through. However, what she did see was magnificent. Tall corridors and glowing lights with actual flames lit the place up, and it seemed to be so much more welcoming than it had before.

By the time they even found Mystogan, they had a pack of soldiers trying to keep up behind them. The exceeds were being carried, seeing as walking - either on all four paws or otherwise - was not as fast as flying, of which they were unable to do.

Thus, with Erza being in the lead, she was the first to come face to face with her counterpart Knightwalker when another hallway was entered.

While the two redheads' quick reflexes had them at a stalemate of weapons-at-throats, the soldiers who were chasing the group finally caught up and surrounded the intruders. The other unarmed members stood with their hands up, as they had no means of magical defense.

Lucy supposed that yes, they were trespassing and breaking into a kingdom, but hey, they knew the king. Still, she sweatdropped as even more palace guards came around the group.

Wendy was the only one not afraid of the multitude of swords pointed at them, or maybe she just hadn't noticed the threatening objects. Instead, she was leaping past Knightwalker and into the arms of a blue-headed king.

"Jellal!"

FT

Meanwhile, a face that the guild knew quite well had been making their own journey across the desert. This mysterious shadow drew nearer to the kingdom as they followed Fairy Tail's path. Worry clouded their mind while their feet marched on at a brisk pace. The Fairies must be reached before they arrived at the castle.

FT

 _His guild, Fairy Tail_ , _was in Edolas._ Mystogan wasn't sure how they were, or why. He didn't know how long they would be able to stay. However, the king of Earth Land's parallel world did know that he missed them, and he especially missed one blue haired girl and a dark colored cat.

When Wendy practically flew into his arms, it took him a moment to register the hug. It was familiar and comforting. Just as quickly, he had his arms around the girl that he had to abandon years ago.

"Wendy…" He could see the tears of joy that she shed upon seeing him. Maybe at last he would have the time to properly apologize. Their embrace wasn't long enough, for the guards of the royal kingdom were asking for his orders. He reluctantly released Wendy.

"Your Majesty, should the intruders be killed or imprisoned?"

Couldn't they see that he was busy? Couldn't the royal army of Edolas recognize that he had one of the so called 'intruders' in his arms? Jellal stepped back from Wendy after smoothing down her long hair with a frown.

"Neither. I know these people; they are not here to harm us."

Although he stepped back, Wendy wasn't about to give up contact. She held onto his hand as he saw the guard grimace. "But Sir-"

"My orders, Lieutenant. Put down your weapons and allow them entry. I will expect a full report later today. For now you are dismissed." He took in the large group of his friends that were now just standing around (except for Natsu. He was being held back from running up to him by Lucy). He gave a soft smile. They were such a nice reminder of his previous home.

Both Captain Knightwalker and Erza Scarlet had brought down their weapons as well, although one with a stubborn glare.

"Erza Scarlet. What are you doing here?" the leader of his army asked her twin.

"Yes. While this is a pleasant surprise, Master Makarov, what are you doing here? All of the magic of this world is gone now." Mystogan didn't have much of a problem letting his friends see his face or hear his voice anymore. They knew that he wasn't Earth Land's Jellal. Still, he was puzzled as to their presence in his kingdom.

The Master gave a huff, his arms crossed. "Well, these brats of mine-"

Knightwalker interrupted. "King Jellal, I believe that calling another 'Master' is below your current station. Please refrain from using it."

One thing that Mystogan wasn't used to quite yet was being referred to as 'King'.

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter as of right now. I am sure that you are tired. Please show them to the West wing, Captain. We have many spare rooms."

"Oi! Mystogan, are you afraid to fight me now?" Natsu asked him. Sighing, Mystogan answered with formality in his voice.

"Now is not the time, Natsu. I will see you all for dinner in the banquet hall." Halfway crouching down, he gave Wendy a smile and gently pushed her to the rest of her team. He then turned around and walked off. It may have seemed distant, but he was a king now, and his duties to his people did have to come first, to some degree. However, the meeting that he had planned would definitely be rescheduled. Tonight, he had a meal to attend.

FT

 _Apparently, some things never change_ , Mystogan thought as he read the three and a half page long document describing the actions of the Earth Land Fairy Tail members. It didn't surprise him that Erza Scarlet was leading the charge, a broadsword clenched tightly in her hand as they crashed down doors. If all it took to get into the heart of the castle was a weapon, they seriously needed to up security. He would plan to talk to his advisors about that.

He read over the quoted 'threat' from 'a pink haired maniac' who was 'planning to assassinate His Royal Majesty, the King'. Heh. That Natsu was always trying to fight those around him. Mystogan hoped that he would have time to interact with his former guild. Never mind that, if he didn't have time, he would make it. Mystogan may have become the leader of a nation, but his friends were in that nation, and therefore deserved his undivided attention. (Well, as much as he could give without completely abandoning his duties.

The day's earlier events piled up in his mind. He had missed Wendy, and he regretted the short conversation with her before the anima pulled in Magnolia. During that moment, he had wished that he had a much longer time to make it up to the girl, but he didn't; a war could not be avoided.

Now, Mystogan had all the time that he could wish for, provided that the mages didn't just disappear into thin air again. And he was planning on using as much of it as he could.

 **Next chapter hopefully coming out soon.** (emphasis on the hope guys, sorry)


End file.
